Paul McCartney and Isaac Asimov’s Canned Alien Musical Explored in Book

Paul McCartney’s ambitious but ultimately abandoned collaboration with legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov reveals in vivid detail in a new book, The McCartney Legacy, Volume 2: 1974–80by Adrian Sinclair and Allan Kozinn.

The book, out on Tuesday (December 10) via HarperCollins, delves into a little-known chapter of McCartney’s post-Beatles career, revealing the surreal project that never came to fruition .

The proposed film, tentatively titled Five plus five plus onetells a wacky plot that interweaves aliens, McCartney’s band Wings (made up of his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist Danny Lane) and their efforts to take over the planet. McCartney’s original treatment of the story was brief, about 400 words long, but Asimov expanded it into a more detailed 1,800-word version. A clip from McCartney’s treatment reveals this unique premise:

“The ‘flying saucer’ lands. Five creatures are obtained from it. They transform into ‘us’ before your eyes.” [Wings]. They’re here to take over the Earth by taking over the United States, and they continue to do it in this supergroup way. At the same time, in remote areas of Britain, there lives an original group of people whose personalities are being exploited by aliens…”

In 1974, McCartney personally contacted Asimov to collaborate on the script, meeting in New York due to Asimov’s aversion to flying. He laughed at the author’s reluctance: “He could imagine himself traveling into distant galaxies, but he wouldn’t get on a plane.”

Asimov expanded on the story, evolving the alien invaders from a dying planet into “energy beings” who sought to capture members of the Wings rather than clone them. However, these creatures are unable to understand human emotions such as love, which adds a philosophical dimension to the narrative.

Although the concept was interesting, the project stalled. By early 1975, the collaboration was shelved, with Asimov reportedly leaving a scathing critique on the first page of the treatment: “Nothing will come of this collaboration because McCartney can’t recognize the good stuff.”

The new book is part of a larger series documenting McCartney’s career, following the release of the first volume in 2022, covering 1969 to 1973.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the era, authors Sinclair and Corzine interviewed former Wings members, producers, and recording engineers to provide readers with an in-depth exploration of McCartney’s post-Beatles era.

Paul McCartney’s accomplishments on Billboard were nothing short of extraordinary. He has written or co-written a record-breaking 32 songs that have topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This includes not only his work with the Beatles, but also his solo hits and collaborations with Wings, Linda McCartney and other artists.

McCartney achieved the extraordinary feat of ranking No. 1 for the entire year advertising billboard Three charting appearances: 1964’s “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” 1968’s “Hey Jude” and 1976’s “Silly Love Songs” – an achievement unmatched by any other artist in chart history .